ABSTRACT
Franz Schubert's piano sonatas are unquestionably among the most sublime works ever written for the instrument. Beethoven's sonority is fuller, Schubert's transparent and lucid. It is the performer's duty to realise this and it is one of the crucial musical and technical problems of interpretation. In Schubert's music melody, harmony and rhythm co-exist in perfect equilibrium. Schubert is one of the great composers of dance music. As a melodist, Schubert is in a class of his own. Endless melodies seem to burst out of his creative genius. Schubert's treatment of harmony is miraculous, and he is the greatest master of modulations. The performer only has to follow Schubert on his journeys and recognize its various stations. The rise and fall of German is very different from that of English or French. Schubert's songs are the best advisers for us when we are not exactly sure about the phrasing or character of a certain part of a piano sonata.
